Reviews

Submission would be a good first word for the description of Wayne Wang's "Chinese Box".

John(Jeremy Irons),is a British photojournalist who lives and works in Hong Kong, and who is suffering from unrequited love for Vivian(Gong Li). With the approaching political changeover, John is feeling a deep sense of melancholy that is deepened when his doctor gives him some bad news about him having leukemia. The bulk of the film follows him as he makes one last, desperate play for Vivian. However, his attempt to win her over is doomed to fail, not only by the changing political tides, but by a series of dark secrets that emerge from both of their pasts. A subplot of greater interest centers on John's endeavor to record the life story of Jean(Maggie Cheung), a street hustler with a burned face. This pretty much sums up the plot.

First of all let me say it is interesting too see Wangs view on the situation with China and Britain and their all time taboo "Hong Kong". A lot of cities have been illuminated for freedom, (which looks now almost like a new trend, if you look at the former Soviets states.) Wang doesn't seem to really pick a side, weather it is for Britain or China, which makes it pleasant to watch.

The issue here is the love story, which is the biggest barricade here. Although The actors are good, the plot just doesn't seem to be going somewhere. Some people might view this as a flaw, but it really is just a point of view, not so really much TELLING than SHOWING a story. there is a difference.

Irons seems to be in his element (after M.Butterfly) and makes a good stand, in keeping up where the story falls down. Gong Li also makes a good impression, but she doesn't seem to have the same intensity as her processors in films like "Farewell my Concubine" or "In the Mood for Love". Being the mistress of a rather pathetic Chinese salary man (I know that the term is Japanese but this is the best way to subscribe him). Not highly but of some level, and she fits nicely around Irons.

Maggie Cheung, and her character is the one who is standing out in both story as well as in acting. Somehow it doesn't really fit in here, therefore it was a smart move of Wang to let it be a "side"story.

Remarkable is the music by Greame Revell, who delivers a brilliant Chinese Score for this film. You can hear that he tried to find the things that made China what it is, and if you listen to the music then it doesn't sound like china, it IS china, if you understand what I am getting at (Revell isn't imitating, but he is recomposing). Nice sound design, and the song Reuben Blades sings when Irons leaves the hospital is just wonderful, with very emotional lyrics.

The cinematography is at some points interesting but not of a high art. Wangs direction isn't brilliant, but it holds up. WHat makes this movie so good then. The feeling, and the lead actor Jeremy Irons.

Francis Ford Coppola's "One from the Heart" already taught us what kind of a lonely and melancholic place Vegas can be. Mike Figgis adds this up with his wonderful movie "Leaving Las Vegas". Vegas is the pit of "blues", and it is here where two lonely souls find each other, and decide to make the best of it.

One of them is Ben (Nicholas Cage), a middle aged screenwriter, who is addicted to alcohol. He lost his inspiration, his job, his family, and because of that the will to live on. So he decides to burn his work and house (Nick Cage is litterly burning bridges), pack everything he has, and spend a fortune on booze only to drive to Vegas and drown himself in alcohol with the objective of killing himself. The other one is the woman Sera (Elizabeth Shue), who is working the streets as a prostitute, and is being abused by her paranoid pimp Yuri (Julian Sands). One night Ben almost runs Sera over with his car, but he can just stop in front of her and she walks up to his car and shows her middle finger as she walks away. Ben seems to be fascinated by her in some way. Letting himself slide in his final days, Ben has decided to spend his money, on booze, hookers and gambling, and in the following night he meets Sera again, and asks her to "fuck" him. As she agrees to go with him to his motel room, what happens after I will not tell, only that they develop a relationship, which goes deeper.

It is the "two lonely souls finding each other drama" which isn't new. But the circumstances ARE new. The whole approach to the movie is new and Figgis knows what he wants to show us. The way he directed his shots, he takes the audience away in an almost dream like sequence only to let us awake at the end of this insane story.

An alcoholic and a hooker, who end up together voluntary in a romantic relationship. Sounds crazy om paper. But Figgis and O'Brian make it believable. No dead Hollywood sentiment. No, Figgis just gives you the plain things you need, without ever preaching about either Sera's or Ben''s lifestyle, which is pleasant.

The performance by Cage is well,... it's very Cage (You know). This probably the only time that I buy into his quircks and overacting. It's silly, it's tragic, but it works. Shue is marvelous. Cage convinced me in his role of suicidal alcoholic, and Shue also does a good job at being a melancholic hooker who is behind her mask of the job a really nice girl, but also very lonely.

Finally what makes this film is Figgis's eye, and the score which is drenched in blues. He actually pulled Sting out of a closet who sings a couple of songs, which are very moving, and the music fits very well with the image. Let yourself drown in sorrow a couple of hours long, and when you get out it you feel so good. Although I loved it, not everyone will find it good, and maybe you will hate it but it clearly is a must have seen... If only to convince you that at a certain time Nick Cage actually was a good actor.

What's the truth,and what does it bring us ? That's the question what carries this movie up to a level of masterpiece. I will not say that this IS a masterpiece since it also has it flaws, but to come to the plot of this movie, it is about a war widow (Sachiko Hidari) which seeks out the ministry of welfare, in order to clear her late husbands name (who was a sergeant in the war)from the name of "desertor". For almost 20 years she is trying to get some answer on her late husbands strange death, and in 1971, when the head of the department of ministry of Welfare changes, she tries it again. (like every year) The man, just like his predecessors, can't clear her husbands name, however feeling sorry for her, gives her a list of 4 names who didn't respond on the inquiry of her husbands death, so she can seek out the truth herself.

This is where the problem starts, for all 4 men ( 1 first class private, a corporal, a military police officer, and a 2nd grade lieutenant) tell her 4 different story's about her late husbands death. The only questions is who is right, and who lies, and as last who simply doesn't know. All the men state at first (which is remarkable) that they simply don't recall much from that time, and apart from from that the military records are not complete, so the widow will never have any prove of the story on how her husband died. This is an interesting factor which shows that even in this movie, Japan still can not deal with it's history.

Back to the movie itself and the review. Sachiko Hidari who plays the widow does a good job on the leading lady here, for her desperation doesn't seem unreal, however sometimes a little overacted. In my opinion it is Tetsuro Tamba who plays the role of one of the returned soldiers from the war who deserves the most credit. He plays the first soldier (private first class) who lives in a dump, between tramps an beggars, and his image of this soldiers who cannibalized on his fellow soldiers is so haunting that it doesn't leave the mind. After his deed of feeding on their flesh because of starvation, he returns in the slums of Tokyo feeling secure, among the chaos. But when Japan cleans up he feels left behind, he feels still dirty (and guilty) and decides to live among the slums in a back alley ghetto dump (very ironic as a PIG farmer). Of the four war witnesses, he is the strongest representation of the carnage pf chaos of it, but that doesn't mean the other 3 are just loose sand. The power of this picture lies in the story's of these 4 men who will tell you about the horrors of that war.

Fukasaku Kinji (Battle Royal, the Geisha House, Fall Guy) has made a very interesting documentary of war, crafted in the form of a motion picture. The film is in color but the flashbacks upon what happened to Sachiko Hidari husband are all in monochrome black and white (except for the strongest shots which switch over into color. Together with some freezing time frames, and b/w picture of the war and holocaust, this picture is trying to make clear that war IS nothing but chaos. Fukasaku's direction is good, however, as said, he is victimizing the wrong group in my eyes. I is understandable as Japanese that he does this, but it doesn't make it right. I don't want to me a moralist, but this is something that Japans just keeps denying (and it affects me for my roots are German, and we confessed to all of the war crimes, but through the incident with the atomic bomb, Japan got away with the victim label) Back to the theme, the pictures of holocaust don't shock anymore, as much as they might have in 1972. (for all those who have seen the war pictures and tapes of Europe from the second world war), but still they leave behind a strong impression on how brutal, and more important how REAL this was. This isn't fiction, it is very much real, and there is still a rather unbelief to what humans are capable of. This films doesn't deny anything from it's image that is inhuman. it shows you the torture (although only of Japanese people, there is only 1 foreigner that get's killed here openly before the camera) of soldiers, the cannibalism, the vermin, the blood lust of officers, the madness, and the chaotic structure. What is left behind are the feeling of fear, you can see it in all the 4 men who are left behind to tell the tale of it.

This movie is not an action flick in the sense of "saving private Ryan" or "Pearl Harbour". This is a slow (or more slower) movie that has it's power in the story it has to say. The camera actions (the image)of the picture is not that new or uncommon, but it hits the nerve of the open wound. To be more precise the story fits the image that Fukasaku shows you.What also was a relieve that this picture didn't care much for heroism that Hollywood filmmakers give their pieces a lot of times, no it's shows us how low people can get if it comes to survive. For anyone who goes beyond Hollywood cinema joy, and a nice night at the movies, an interesting piece to watch, and if it was only to hear the story from A. the Japanese side, and B. the hear a second world war tale which isn't about Nazis Europe, Americans or Germans.

A Town a Silence,... for the grief of the parents id great, and the joyful screams and laughing of their children shall be never more.

Those where the first words I cold think of after the movie's ending. This movie handles a hard theme, it is about the death of a child. Honestly not one, no director Atom Egoyan found a way to kill all of the children in 1 breath, taking it not into the absurd, but in fact with a touch of realism.

Imagine a small town somewhere in the mountains of Canada, where yo have a lot of individual houses who stand in the mountains. Imagine it being winter, and having a dead wood covered in perfect white snow. Imagine 1 school bus, on it's way to deliver the small group of country kids to their normal school day. Imagine that the driver losses control, over the wheel on the icy and slippery road. Imagine that the bus falls of a low cliff onto the ice. Now imagine the bus going through the ice, where most kids (all but 1) meet a ice cold and wet grave.

The ones who are left behind are the parents who can only grief in silence, until after all reporters are gone, a lawyer shows up, who tries a make a claim, to look for a guilty one, in this tragedy.

But really WHO IS TO BLAME ? IS THERE SOMEONE TO BLAME ?

Like I said before, a hard issue, since losing your child would be one of the worst thing for a loving and caring parent. The director made this movie with quiet some skill, not making it OVER dramatical, but in his directing and the acting, is quiet subtle. No really BIG or huge cries, no the parents you see are broken people silent grievers, who one's in while will shed a tear. No bursting out into tears and screaming hard asking WHY WHY ?, no happy end, etc etc. This is NOT a Hollywood mainstream movie, but a perfect clear and free from all sorts of overacted sentiment motion picture. It is subtle yet hard, has a beautiful cinematography, amazing settings, a moving score and fine acting work.

If you not believe me go see for yourself, but keep in mind that this is not a happy or "sweet" picture it is a moving and a sad one.

"Plot" (may contain spoilers)

René Gallimard (Jeremy Irons),is a diplomat working for the French Embassy in Beijing 1964. When he goes to a performance of Puccini's Madame Butterfly performed by the outspoken and exotic singer Song Liling (John Lone), (who is actually a man masquerading as a woman) he is the witness of himself falling in love with "her". Gallimard pursues an affair with Liling, never recognizing that he is being duped. However, the deception goes even deeper, for Liling is working for the Communist government and using the relationship with Gallimard to procure important French intelligence.

"Review"

I will start my comment with the performance of both lead actors. It is my opinion that both Jeremy Irons, and John Lone have underrated for both their parts. Irons is doing his best and gives a performances worthy up to the one he gave in "Lolita" or "Dead Ringers" As for John Lone, I would say beside his role in "The Last Emperor" this is one of his outstanding performances. Both gentleman don't overdo it on the drama force, but also don't act flat when it comes to it.

Cronenberg did a good directing job, thinking about appearance, but also the content and acting, I figure he delivers a very good picture. Also being his first project outside Canada, he does well on foreign ground delivering us images that stroke the eye.

The only thing that makes this movie not perfect is the script Whang made. Not bad writing or dialogs, just the way things go through the whole story, the so called red wire doesn't really fit the spot. a little minus which gives the movie a 8/10